This section is a brief summary of the main Maya interface. Numbered headings below refer to the numbered interface elements in the figure.
- If you can’t find the menu you’re looking for, it may be that the correct menu set is not open - see Menus and menu sets. You can also choose and enter the name of menu or command you're looking for.
- You can show or hide elements (panels) in the main window using the Windows > UI Elements menu.
- You can hide all the interface elements to maximize viewing space and instead use the quick command features: the hotbox, Maya Hotkeys, and Marking menus.
- You can resize most panels by dragging their edges when a double-headed arrow cursor appears.
- You can rearrange the panels to suit your preferences by docking them in different areas of the Maya window. For more information, see Rearrange the interface.
- 1. Menu Sets
- Menu sets divide the type of menus available into categories: Modeling, Rigging, Animation, FX, and Rendering. Maya's first seven menus on the main menu are always available, and the remaining menus change depending on the menu set you choose. See Menus and menu sets for information.
- 2. Menus
- The menus contain both tools and actions for working in your scene. The main menu is that the top of the Maya window. There are also individual menus for the panels and option windows. You can also access the menus in the main menu in the hotbox, which you can open by holding down the space bar in a view panel. See Menus and menu sets for information.
- 3. Status Line
- The Status line contains icons for some commonly-used commands, such as File > Save, as well as icons for setting up object selection, snapping, rendering, and more. A quick Selection field is also available for you to set up for numeric input.
- 4. Shelf
- The Shelf contains tabs that represent each menu set. Each tab contains icons that represent the most commonly-used commands for each set. The real power of shelves, however, is that you can create custom shelves, and then make tools or command shortcuts that are quickly accessed from there with a single click. See Shelves for information.
- 5. Sidebar icons
- These icons at the right end of the Status line open up tools that you will use frequently. From left to right, click on each icon to toggle opening and closing the Modeling Toolkit, the HumanIK window, the Attribute Editor, the Tool Settings, and the Channel Box (which is open by default and shown here).
- 6. View panel
- The View panel offers different ways of viewing the objects in your scene with a camera view. You can show one or several view panels, depending on the layout you're using. You can also display different editors in the view panel. The Panel Toolbar in each view panel gives you access to many of the frequently used commands found in the Panel menus.
- 7. Channel Box
- The Channel Box lets you edit attributes and key values for selected objects. The Transform attributes are shown by default, but you can change which attributes are displayed here.
- 8. Layer Editor
- There are two types of layers that are displayed in the
Layer Editor:
- Display Layers are used to organize and manage objects in a scene, such as for setting their visibility and selectability.
- Animation Layers are used to blend, lock, or mute multiple levels of animation.
In all cases, there is a default layer where objects are initially place upon creation.
- 9. Tool Box
- The Tool Box contains tools that you use all the time to select and transform objects in your scene. Use the QWERTY hotkeys to use the Select tool (Q), Move tool (W), Rotate tool (E), Scale tool (R), and Show Manipulators (T), as well as access the last tool used (Y) in the scene.
- 10. Quick layout buttons
- The Quick Layout Buttons let you switch between useful panel layouts in a single click. See Panels and layouts for information on other ways to create custom layouts.
- 11. Time Slider
- The Time Slider shows you the time range that is available as defined by the range slider, below. The time slider also displays the current time, and the keys on selected objects or characters. You can drag the red playback cursor in it to "scrub" through animation, or use the playback controls at the right end.
- 12. Range Slider
- The Range Slider lets you set the start and end time of the scene's animation and a playback range, such as if you want to focus on a smaller portion of the whole animation.
- 13. Playback controls
- The Playback Controls let you move around time and preview your animation as defined by the Time Slider range.
- 14. Anim/Character menus
- The Animation or Character menus let you switch the Animation Layer and the current Character Set.
- 15. Command Line
- The Command line has an area to the left for inputting single MEL commands, and an area to the right for feedback. Use these area if you are familiar with Maya's MEL scripting language.
- 16. Help Line
- The Help Line gives a short description of tools and menu items as you scroll over them in the UI. This bar also prompts you with the steps required to complete a certain tool or workflow.